How long does Kenny recommend hovering to check systems before departure?

Kenny KellerCreator Helicopter Online Ground School LLC

Feel Something Off? Your Hover Pre-Takeoff Check Will Tell You

21 Jul 2025 · 2 min

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1:43

Kenny Keller explains why you should hover for 30 seconds to a minute after lifting off, scanning manifold pressure, warning lights, and gauges before you taxi or take off. Slow down and think through your next steps, including your radio call.

Questions this video answers

On the order of tens of seconds: he mentions 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds and advises generally 20–30 seconds, or about 30 seconds to a minute to be sure.

Chapters

Alright, so we just lifted up. So I'm going to move away from the hangar and get over here to the field area and then I'm going to take 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds, get away from any obstacles after your first pickup and then just come to a hover for just a little bit, enough time that you can see. Okay, now that we're up to a hover, how much manifold pressure am I pulling? What are my warning caution lights are doing? All my gauges and pressures. Is everything still in the grain? Did I get my timer going? Just hang loose there for like I said, you know, 20, 30 seconds. Let the machine, you know, do its thing, see how it's going to act. Now that you're up to a hover, I see so many people that pick up and they just, they rush to pick up and they hurry up and oh my God, what am I going to do now? Like think about it, slow down. But take the time to just nice hover check, make sure everything's good. Think about your radio call like if we were going to depart now for the pattern, what we're going to do next. Try to plan it out, plan out in my head what the radio call is and then start moving forward out to the taxiway or Runway or taking off directly from a ramp area or whatever it is you're doing. So just take the time that once you're up, give that engine a little bit of time, 30 seconds or minute or so. Just make sure that everything is good before you go. Make sure you didn't forget anything. It's easy to just set down and shut down and go back if you forgot something or whatever the case is. Hope you've been enjoying these daily tips. We have another tip for you right here. Private Pilot 101 Helicopter Training Blueprint. This is our Amazon number one bestseller. It's got all a ton of free information in it about training tips and all kinds of different topics. So there's a free PDF version or the paperback. There's a link around this video somewhere. Check that link, download the free PDF and we'll see you in the next video. Peace out.